Beachy Mermaid Party

byRuth SoukuponMay 31

Every time I throw a party I declare it my favorite party of all time, and this Beachy Mermaid Party for Trouble’s fourth birthday was no exception! Sand, starfish, & mermaids….what’s not to love? Best. Party. Ever. (Until the next one, of course!)

There were so many fun elements that came together for this party, but what I loved most about it is that most of the “beachy” decorations are now able to do double-duty as my summer home decor, which meant that my party decorating budget could be stretched even further. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a lot more details about all the individual DiY projects that went into this party, but for now, here is the final result:

My budget for kid food, treats, cake, decorations, favors, & outfits for the girls was just under $200. We did spend a little more than that on additional food & drinks for the adults that joined us. (We had about 65 guests overall. I didn’t include photos of the guests because a.) I was too busy hostessing to take a lot of photos and b.) I would’ve had to get permission from 60 people to post their photos online which just seemed like a hassle! )

Here is the breakdown of how I spent my budget:

Invitations ($0)–My graphic design student niece Coryn designed me the cute little mermaid, which I then used to design my own invitation. I printed it on matte photo paper I got free at Staples during back-to-school time last summer, then cut it and put them in 4×6″ envelopes I already had on hand. And just because I’m nice like that, I decided to make up some free mermaid printables for you guys in case any of you are planning a mermaid party of your own. You can find them all here.

Pallet Projects ($0)–The beachy pallet artwork, “mermaids this way” sign, and the mermaid photo op stand were all built by my husband using old pallets that we picked up for free and a piece of scrap wood he had in the garage. It is so nice to have a handy husband! He carefully deconstructed the pallets then re-constructed for each project. I did all the painting & embellishment, which meant that our only cost for those was basically a few pennies in paint.

Seashells & Sand ($20)–most of the sand and seashells were collected ourselves at the beach–we do live in Florida, after all–but I did have to purchase a few “fancy” shells and starfish. I found some on Etsy, then found a few more (for cheaper) at a local store.

Craft Supplies ($15)–Most of the craft supplies I used for this party were things I already had on hand, but I did have to buy some burlap ribbon for the burlap wreaths, as well as a few bottles of aqua paint. Since JoAnn’s accepts competitor’s coupons I was able to use coupons on pretty much everything!

Home Accents ($22)–I bought the galvanized tray & “net” candle holder at TJ Maxx, and then I found 4 corked bottles at a local thrift shop for $0.75 each. Score! The mini lanterns were borrowed from a friend, while the large glass candle holder was something I already had on hand.

Table Decorations ($25)–The skirted tablecloth on the round table was not made specifically for this party, but I did sew it myself using Edie’s awesome tablecloth tutorial. The aqua tulle I used on the food table and then again on the chairs outside was actually something I already had on hand, since I’ve been meaning to use it to make tulle tutus for the girls for some time now. I was careful to cut it in the lengths I will need so I will still be able to use it for the tutus! The plastic silverware and basic white napkins were both things I already had on hand, but I jazzed them up by adding some twine (stolen from Husband’s supply in the garage) and some mermaid tags that I printed myself. The main expense was this ruffled aqua shower curtain I purchased to use as the backdrop to the table. I hung it with Command hooks and it worked like a charm!

Sand Castle Cake ($15)–The cake was definitely the focal point for the whole party! I was able to keep the costs WAY down because I had almost everything I needed already on hand in my baking stockpile. The only things I specifically needed to purchase were this seashell candy mold and this starfish candy mold, as well as some white chocolate candy melts and some butter & cream cheese for the frosting.

Kid-Friendly Food ($40)–For the kiddos we served PB & “jellyfish” sandwiches, tuna “starfish” sandwiches, starfish rice crispy treats, goldfish marshmallow pops, pretzel & cheddar goldfish, oyster “pearl” cookies, and saltwater taffy. It was all a lot of fun to make, and not too expensive since I was careful to stock up items while they were on sale. In fact, the most expensive part of the kids food was the saltwater taffy from a local candy store!

Drink Station ($10)–As usual we served homemade lemonade made from our own lemon tree. The plastic “mason” jars were special-ordered several years ago (from a wholesale container store) just to use for parties, since we have a very strict no-glass policy around the pool. We have gotten SO much use out of them since then! The paper straws were ordered from Etsy.

Favors ($20)–Rather than goodie bags, this year we opted to give out little “messages in a bottle.” The mini corked bottles were a daily deal on Pick Your Plum.

Party Outfits ($24) –I also found the girls’ blue skirts on Pick Your Plum for only $9 each! They have pretty much worn them every day since they got them, so I think it was a pretty good purchase. I found the white t-shirts on clearance at Target for $3 each, and then added the mermaids using printable iron-on transfer paper that I already had on hand. (Get the free printable mermaid graphic here)

{Party Total: $191}

Finally, for those of you who are wondering (and since I get asked about it almost daily on the post I wrote about taking my kids’ toys away), we are very adamant about our birthday parties being gift-free. Thankfully our friends know us well enough to honor that request! While Trouble received lots of very sweet cards (that she loved), she was thankfully not overwhelmed by a huge stack of gifts, and she was just super excited about being the birthday girl.

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What do you think of the beachy mermaid theme? How do you maximize your party budget?

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I create my own using a word processing program, then punch them out using my Fiskars squeeze scalloped circle punch (the extra large size) I think the punch is around $15. I bought it several years ago and I have gotten SO much use out of since then! The food & mermaid tags are available on the free printable page!

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I am reading your ebook and saw the reference to a mermaid party. I just had to come check it out, and it’s adorable! I’m planning a ladybug party for my almost three year old. But now I’m already thinking next year’s party needs to have a mermaid theme. thanks for the great ideas! And I’m loving the ebook, it’s AWESOME!

HI! I loved your Mermaid party theme, I’m actually making my daughters party not exactly like yours but she’ll have mermaid also. I was just wondering how you made Troubles sand castle birthday cake?? I LOVE IT! Such a brilliant idea you did, I would also LOVE to make this cake for daughters party. If you don’t mind telling me how that would be really appreciated. Thank you!

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[…] Sometimes the best party projects are the simplest, and these little Oyster “Pearl” Cookies are the perfect example! They were so easy to put together, using just a few ingredients and taking less than 30 minutes from start to finish. And yet, despite their simple assembly, they added so much–including a perfect pop of color–to our otherwise aqua and sand colored beachy mermaid party table. […]

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